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Slice of SoCal mall purchased

By Inman News, Monday, June 11, 2007.

A Los Angeles-based investor has paid $44 million for a major portion of Plaza at Puente Hills.

JSL Plaza at Puente Hills acquired the 177,933-square-foot section, which is located at 17877-18271 Gale Ave. in the City of Industry, Calif. This part of the 477,000-square-foot mall is situated on more than 13.6 acres, and includes national credit tenants such as Office Depot, Smart & Final, Sam Ash and Shoe City.  more...

Charleston's Cigar Factory sold

By Inman News, Monday, June 11, 2007.

The Cigar Factory, a 230,012-square-foot historic building in downtown Charleston, S.C., has sold for an undisclosed price.

The Simpson Organization Inc. purchased the office property -- built in 1881 as a cotton mill -- from IGL Two LLC.

Located at 701 East Bay St., the property has been operated as an office building for the last 25 years; however, the buyer plans an extensive redevelopment to residential condominiums.

The structure is on the National Register of Historic Places, according to a press statement.

Koreatown deal tops $52M

By Inman News, Monday, June 11, 2007.

StarPoint Properties LLC recently sold a 302-unit apartment complex in Los Angeles' Koreatown for approximately $52.8 million.

An undisclosed local investor purchased the property, Emerald Terrace, which comprises two buildings at 136 and 160 South Virgil Ave.

Originally built in 1971 and situated on 1.5 acres, Emerald Terrace includes 107 studio units, 150 one-bedroom/one-bathroom units and 45 two-bedroom/two-bathroom units.  more...

Maine's anti-predatory-lending bill targets high-cost loans Premium Content

By Matt Carter, Monday, June 11, 2007.

In the latest example of state lawmakers beating Congress and federal regulators to the punch, Maine has adopted a strong anti-predatory-lending measure that an advocate for mortgage brokers says will have the effect of "wiping out subprime lending in the state."

Legislation passed unanimously by state lawmakers and signed into law Monday by Gov. John Baldacci broadens the definition of high-cost mortgage loans, places new restrictions on their use, and allows for criminal prosecution of violators.  more...

Arizona could make mortgage fraud a felony

By Inman News, Monday, June 11, 2007.

Mortgage fraud will be a felony in Arizona under legislation headed to the governor's desk.

House Bill 2040 would make deliberate misrepresentations to lenders -- such as inflated appraisals or falsified borrower incomes used to obtain loans that exceed a home's true worth -- class four felonies, punishable by up to three years in prison.

Those who engage in "a pattern of residential mortgage fraud" or a conspiracy would face class two felony charges, punishable by up  more...

Real estate bloggers share blog recipes

By Inman News, Monday, June 11, 2007.

Most new blogs will fail, but with dedication and discipline the ones that succeed can open many doors for their creators, said participants in an Inman News podcast on real estate blogging.

The podcast, "Building from the Ground Up: Real Experiences Starting a Real Estate Blog from Scratch," is available for free online.  more...

Refis, HELOCs boost Countrywide's loan production

By Inman News, Monday, June 11, 2007.

A boom in nonpurchase loans helped Countrywide Financial Corp. boost residential mortgage loan funding in May to $44 billion, a 15 percent increase from last year.

Purchase loan volume for the year to date is down, but Countrywide has more than made up for that decline with a sharp rise in nonpurchase loans, including refinance and home equity loans.

At $18.6 billion, Countrywide's funding of purchase loans in May was up slightly from last year's $18.3 billion mark.  more...

Real estate's smoking gun Premium Content

By Marc Davison, Monday, June 11, 2007.

I continue to read about online searching versus personalizing the Internet. About receiving content from trusted sources rather than fishing for it. About Web users relying on their social networks, their RSS readers and customized widgets on their Netvibes pages to harness the Internet and customize their experiences versus using search engines and scouring the Web for destinations.

It's Google versus Facebook -- searching to locate the undiscovered site versus dependency on the recommendation of fellow network members for information.  more...

Overnight real estate rates in 8-day climb

By Inman News, Monday, June 11, 2007.

Long-term mortgage interest rates continued their uptrend Monday, and the benchmark 10-year Treasury bond yield climbed to 5.15 percent.

The 30-year fixed-rate average jumped to 6.33 percent, and the 15-year fixed rate rose to 6 percent. The 1-year adjustable, however, dipped to 5.55 percent.

The 30-year Treasury bond yield was up to 5.26 percent.

Rates and bonds are current as of 7:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.

Mortgage rate figures are according to Bankrate.com, which publishes nightly averages based on its survey of 4,000 banks in 50 states.  more...

Redfin revives local real estate blogs

By Jessica Swesey, Monday, June 11, 2007.

Redfin today relaunched its local real estate blogs known as Sweet Digs after pulling the plug less than a month ago due to a multiple listing service rule that prohibits brokers from advertising other brokers' listings.

Under pressure from Northwest MLS, Redfin in May shut down the Sweet Digs blogs, which at the time offered in-person reviews of local properties for sale in Seattle and San Francisco neighborhoods.  more...

Real estate duets to hit on tough changes

By Inman News, Monday, June 11, 2007.

As the television news show, "60 Minutes," recently demonstrated with its polarizing program on the industry, real estate is in a state of flux right now. New technologies and applications appear almost daily with the promise of revolutionizing the process of buying and selling a home.

Amidst all this change, a schism has formed between those subscribing to new schools of thought on how the industry should evolve and those who prefer to stick with the status quo.  more...